Steve Sullivan | Winger

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Steve Sullivan has plenty of personal experiences he can lean on as he begins his new career as the Coyotes' development coach.

Sullivan played in 1,011 career NHL games, but as impressive as that is, it doesn't begin to tell the full story of his playing career. He nearly had his career derailed because of back problems that sidelined him for almost two years. In the end, he managed to return and, despite being in his mid-30s by the time he was back, enjoy several solid campaigns before hanging up his skates. He also had to climb up the ranks to get into the NHL after being passed on until the ninth round of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. His ability to overcome the odds might help inspire the Coyotes' young players as he tries to help them get the most out of their careers. Thu, Sep 18, 2014 06:44:00 AM

Steve Sullivan has been hired by the Arizona Coyotes to serve as their development coach.

Sullivan had 290 goals and 747 points in 1,011 career games. He surpassed the 1,000 game milestone despite missing almost two years due to back problems and he received the Bill Masterton Trophy after his return in 2008-09. Tue, Sep 9, 2014 01:37:00 PM

"I wouldn’t say 100%, but 99.9%," Sullivan said. "I’ve had an unbelievable run." Even still, he's still training as if he's going to play next season, so if a team makes him an offer, he will likely give it serious consideration. He had seven goals and 17 points in 42 games with the Phoenix Coyotes and New Jersey Devils last season. He surpassed the 1,000 game milestone in 2013 and has 747 career points. Mon, Jul 29, 2013 08:56:00 PM

Steve Sullivan won't be back with New Jersey next season, but he hasn't decided yet if he plans to retire.

"It's still up in the air," said agent Steve Bartlett. "He's taking some vacation time with the family and they're going to talk things through." Sullivan owns a house in Scottsdale, Ariz and it's thought that he may want to play somewhere on the West coast or return to Phoenix if he decides to come back for another year. Wed, Jun 26, 2013 10:41:00 AM

Antoine Vermette has returned to the Arizona Coyotes on a two-year contract worth $7.5M which includes a No-Movement Clause.

Sometimes there's no place like home. Other than his foray with Chicago, Vermette has been with the Coyotes franchise since 2011-12 when he was acquired in a trade from Columbus. Vermette has produced 53 goals and 111 points in 215 career games with the Coyotes, and his signing helps alleviate very different cap problems with Arizona and Chicago respectively.

Boyd Gordon knows what to expect in his return to the Arizona Coyotes.

"I know what (coach Dave Tippett) expects from me, and I think playing two seasons there -- I think maybe the transition's easier than going to a different team and different coaching and all that kind of stuff," Gordon said. "Hopefully the transition is maybe a little bit smoother than going somewhere else." Gordon tallied six goals and 13 points in 68 games last season while ranking 11th (55.9%) in face-off proficiency.

The Arizona Coyotes have signed center Brad Richardson to a three-year/$6.25 million contract.

Richardson had off-season ankle surgery but that did not dissuade the Coyotes who get a solid bottom-two center, albeit one who has little fantasy value. He had eight goals and 21 points in 45 games for the Canucks last season but expect a bit less in 2015-16.

Mikkel Boedker has inked a one-year, $3.75 million contract with the Arizona Coyotes.

Boedker filed for salary arbitration, but that's obviously moot now. He had 14 goals and 28 points in 45 contests in 2014-15. He was a restricted free agent and previously came with a $2.55 million annual cap hit.

Lessio has two goals and five points in 26 contests in 2014-15. Arizona has already used three of its four available post-trade deadline callups on paper transactions (players demoted and immediately recalled to make them AHL playoff eligible) so the odds of Lessio being summoned before the end of the campaign aren't great.

Tobias Rieder picked up his first career international point when he assisted on Michael Wolf's goal mid way through the first on Saturday.

Rieder, a native of Landshut, Germany, was playing in his first career international game as well. The former 114th overall pick by Edmonton in the 2011 draft had a nice rookie campaign this season for Arizona, scoring 13 goals and 21 points in 72 games.

Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver doesn't mind his team sharing a new downtown arena with the Coyotes, but he isn't sure if the numbers will add up for the hockey team.

Arizona's lease in Glendale was favorable, but the team is now looking to get out of Jobing.com arena and make a move downtown. A facility that can host both a basketball team and a hockey team is expensive and as Sarver points out, he's already paying $23 million per year to play at US Airways center. It may be extremely difficult for the Coyotes to afford paying prices in that neighborhood given their financial issues. If the team can't make the numbers work, their days in Arizona may be coming to an end.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson isn't happy with the city of Glendale because of the breaking of the lease agreement between the city and the Coyotes.

"We’ve been through so much the past couple of years, and now this happens. It’s disappointing and extremely frustrating that we have to go through something like this again." The future of the Coyotes in Arizona has to be questioned at the least, but it appears as though ownership is committed to keeping the team in Arizona.

Michael Stone potted a goal for the Coyotes in their 4-2 loss against the Lightning on Saturday night.

Stone tallied the game’s first goal at 14:02 of the first period. He has points in four of his past five games, and now has three goals and 14 points on the year. Mark Arcobello scored the other goal for Arizona.

Klas Dahlbeck has inked a one-year, two-way deal with the Arizona Coyotes.

Dahlbeck had a goal and four points in 23 games with Chicago and Arizona last season. He started the campaign in the Blackhawks' organization, but was traded to the Coyotes along with a first round pick on Feb. 28 in exchange for Antoine Vermette.

Brandon Gormley has accepted his one-year, two-way qualifying offer with the Arizona Coyotes.

Gormley had two goals and four points in 27 games with Arizona in 2014-15. At the age of 23, he still has the potential to develop into a defenseman that puts up sufficient offensive numbers to make him worth owning in standard leagues. However, at this point we recommend taking a wait-and-see approach with him rather than take a chance on drafting him before training camp.

Chris Pronger was indeed elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday.

Pronger, who was recently traded to the Coyotes and still has two seasons left on his contract, played 1,167 games in 18 NHL seasons where he compiled 698 points and 1,590 penalty minutes. He won the Hart Trophy and Norris Trophy in the same season (2000) and he was a member of the Triple Gold club. Pronger hasn't played since Nov. 19, 2011 because of concussion issues, which made him eligible for the honor to head to the Hall of Fame

The 2015 World Championships seems to have been a morale booster for Mike Smith.

Smith had a 1.50 GAA and .930 save percentage in the tournament to help Canada win a gold medal. "It reiterates that I'm a pretty good goalie," Smith said. "It's been a tough year mentally on me. Physically, I got a good handle on that, but I think mentally, going into the summer knowing that I've played some pretty good hockey now for three months or so, I think it's important." Smith had a 3.16 GAA and .904 save percentage in 62 games with Arizona in 2014-15. He did do somewhat better in the second half of the campaign though and it wouldn't be surprising to see him do at least moderately better in 2015-16.